March 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Well I have just had my fourth every DE shave:

L' Oreal face wash
Warm Towel prep
Palmolive Original cream
Omega Pro 49 Boar
Merkur 34c HD
Astra SP (new)
L'Oréal postbalm
CK aftershave.

As promised I really concentrated on the technique. For the first time I used my left hand for the left side of my face.
This to me is so much more difficult than it looked.
1st pass resulted in much more stubble on my left side than right.
2nd pass a little better but by no means to a standard that I would want and my third pass has left me still with a sandpaper feel on the left side of my face.
Some parts of my right side (Cheeks) are smooth.

Message to myself:
Must keep practising and MUST NOT become despondent.

lots to learn guys!

 

Time and talent are what blocks me right now. Money for the stones and such is also a blocker.

Since I am terrible at knife sharpening, how long does it take to get a razor sharp?
How do you know when and for how long to strop?

Can you strop before putting them away or the night before and then just go straight to shaving the next day, or do you have to strop right before use?

 

Congrats! Keep it up and your efforts will be rewarded. I just started Feb 1 myself so you can see my progress in the Feb and March rules/focus threads. These guys are the best teachers. Do not be afraid to ask. Also, the more detail the more opportunity they have to indicate areas for improvement.

As for the Merkur 34C, we all have blades that work best for us so grab a sample pack and try some different ones. For me with my tough beard and sensitive skin, blade choice makes a difference. So far I like Astra SP, Gillette SharpEdge Yellows, Rapira Platinum Lux and I think highly of the Voskhod teflons but for me the others were slightly better.

 

Many thanks for your support and advice, it is more than appreciated.
Wayne

 

At this point I am not the greatest person to ask, but here's my two cents: (you experienced guys please correct or add)

As far as the time it takes to figure it out, I would say that besides studying up, I basically spent two days worth of time, and a few evenings getting comfortable. As far as money, I had about $100 into stuff to get started, but you could easily do it for less than fifty.

How long it takes to hone depends a ton. If you have to start from scratch and set the bevel, it takes what it takes, and depends on the razor. With the Torrey I screwed it up the first time, and spent well over an hour fixing it. I probably had more than three hours into it. With the razor I used today, I barely had an hour into it start to finish. There are lots of good videos on you tube. If all you are doing is taking a razor that was honed, and getting it back to super sharp, it takes less than five minutes. (At least with the few I have done. )

You could strop the night before I suppose, but it only takes a minute, so I hadn't thought much about it.

 

When I was shaving regularly with straights, I used the same razor for a full week at a time. I would strop it after my shave and then go right to shaving the next morning. I always strop, at least a few passes, after a shave to make the blade is dry. Given this, I think you can strop the night before and be good.

 

I have been trying new stuff back and forth just for the fun of it, because it is new. But I think my focus next month will be to pick one and use it for the week. It is interesting how different each one is, even when they are the "same" razor.

I think getting to know your gear is going to be more important for me with straights than anything so far. Which is good, because it might slow me down a bit. Keeping this AD at bay is gonna be hard. On the bright side, I haven't hardly thought about buying a brush in a month.

Kind of reminds me of when I traded Copenhagen for Camels.

 

At your speed.
I'd have to sit and discuss the whole "There is no try" thing with Master Yoda. You do things. Either they are good or bad. Stop doing the bad things. Try more things & keep doing the good things. It's incremental improvement.
The Rule idea is to reduce variables. If you use the same equipment, any changes are in how you use them. Starting off new everything is, well, new. Except your old cartridge habits. No mashing the razor head to your skin. There's little difference between carts and straights. Sharp blade VS. hair. But those carts are surrounded by guards, bumpers, lubricating strips, all set on self leveling heads. A straight, DE, SE, etc works the same way but now the operator is in charge of all those variables the cart did for you.
Lots to learn? Yup, and it's going to improve one nick, weeper, and razor burn at a time. It'll be better when it quits bleeding!

 

Welcome aboard. Sounds like you are off to a great start. Don't be overly concerned with results in the beginning. The results will be there when things start to click in about 30 shaves or so. Try to minimize the variables by sticking to the same lineup. This is really the only way to gauge your improvements in technique.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thank you so much guys for such sound advice. It is truly a privilege to be here.

 

Welcome aboard! Are you familiar with the term, ride the cap? One of the things that cartridges did was remove the need for a shaver to find the best angle for the blade to effectively cut whiskers. With a cart, you press harder and it cuts. With a DE, you have to maintain a light pressure, while getting the right angle for the blade. It takes some practice, but your shaves will get better as you work on it. I shut off the water, fan, and music, so I can hear the blade cutting. Find that sound on your cheeks, then adjust the angle of attack on the other parts to get the same sound.

 

Honing is a different skill than knife sharpening. I am a proficient knife sharpener, maybe bordering on advanced. I am a newb at honing. I typically get a good edge after a couple of tries.

Stropping is actually pretty easy. If you can shave without cutting your self all the time, you can strop. It requires some practice and repetition to build muscle memory, but isn't difficult. I normally do 10 laps on leather and 10 on linen after my shave, mainly to clean and dry the edge. Then another 40/40 before the shave. I think if you shave every day, you can probably just strop after. Keep in mind that stropping does clean off oxidation and polish the edge, so it might give you a better shave that way.

 

You know, I have never ever even tried to shave each side of my face with a different hand. I am primarily lefthanded but like many lefties am functionally ambidextrous out of necessity since so much of our surroundings is set up for the righthanded. But some things I only do with one hand (e.g. writing lefthanded). And one of those is shaving.

Why do you feel it is necessary - or even advisable - to switch hands as you shave? If you look at any shaving manual or set of instructions dating from the 19th century onwards, they invariably show the razor being used in one hand only and generally include a section on how to shave the offhand side of the face.

If it's a specific challenge you set yourself ... to be able to shave with either hand ... fine - go for it. But if you are struggling with it because someone told you that was the proper way to shave, then don't. Because they were out to lunch. Switching hands while shaving is appropriate if you are ambidextrous and can comfortably use your razor in either hand. Otherwise it is just one more stumbling block to overcome - and a totally unnecessary one.

My two cents. And btw, I have been doing the 30-day Crew since October and it has gotten me from barely being able to lather my face and being unable to shave with a DE or injector without using a styptic pencil to being comfortable experimenting with different razors, blades and soaps and getting good shaves with most of them - in under six months. And being willing to offer others advice myself. (Just so you know what my two cents is really worth.)

 

It's all ours. Now just have fun.

 

Mark-

You've done great! Looking forward to watching you master it next month. Thanks for doing this on the thread with us, you'll surely inspire others to give SR a look.

 

Welcome aboard! This is the place for all shaving solutions!

 

Razor: Mongoose B2 w/custom aluminum handle
Blade: Kai Captain TITAN (4)
Brush: Shavemac ATG LE The Rowl Silvertip
Soap: Route 66 Bourbon Jungle
Aftershave: Floid Blue
Bowl: Tom White 3 D printer bowl.

 

Great picture and great brush!

 

Thanks Jim.

 

We were all terrible to begin! Good shaves come through practice. Just keep at it and you'll be amazed in a month, I promise.